MMI News

Nineteen of MMI Preparatory School’s 34 competitors placed first in the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science state competition at Penn State’s University Park campus. An additional 15 MMI students placed second in the competition.

Junior Emily Ankiewicz was selected as MMI Preparatory School’s “Best of the Best” for the 2018-2019 spring term for her presentation entitled “Is Your Phone Controlling You?” which she delivered during an all-school assembly.

MMI Preparatory School in Freeland conducted its 127th commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 23 as seniors were awarded diplomas by MMI Acting Head of School William A. Shergalis, Ph.D. ’58 and Chairman of the Board of Directors John H. Hersker ’76.

MMI 2019 graduate Summer Evancho will continue her academic and volleyball careers at Marywood University. 

MMI 2019 graduate Matthew Marchetti will continue his academic and basketball careers at Misericordia University. 

MMI Preparatory School announced the dedication of its softball field as Warner Field during a ceremony Friday at the school. The name follows a donation of $250,000 from the Warner Family, a four-generation MMI family.

Forty-five MMI Preparatory School students placed in the top 26 during the regional Envirothon competition, including the team of Alexander Sessock, Kaitlyn McGeehan, Kai Mele, Dominique Kline, and Benjamin Putnam, who captured first place in the event. The winning team will represent MMI and Luzerne County at the Pennsylvania Envirothon state competition on May 21-22 at the University of Pittsburgh’s Johnstown campus.

Andrew Krzywicki Straw ’75, the global portfolio manager for fiber optic connectivity product development for Corning Incorporated and a retired Army Reserve Colonel, will serve as the commencement speaker at MMI’s 2019 Commencement Ceremony on May 23. In his role at Corning, Straw manages a portfolio of more than 50 development projects for fiber-to-the-home, data center, and distributed antenna system products. He has worked in the fiber optic communications industry for more than 30 years in a variety of engineering and management roles, including applications and field engineering, manufacturing, and research and development.

The MMI Preparatory School Board of Directors announced today that Justin S. Kleinheider has been appointed as MMI’s new Head of School beginning on July 1. Kleinheider is a New Jersey native with nearly 20 years of experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools. He comes to MMI from Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School in Joplin, Missouri, where he oversees the liberal arts, college preparatory curricular program in grades pre-kindergarten through 12. In addition to curricular oversight, Kleinheider works directly with faculty on professional development and is an active participant in daily student life. He led the school’s...

MMI Preparatory School inducted 17 eighth-grade students into the National Junior Honor Society and 13 students into the National Latin Honor Society during a ceremony at the school.

MMI Preparatory School students completed community service projects at nine locations throughout Greater Hazleton to honor a late MMI alumna as part of the annual Athena Ford ’01 Day of Service. Athena Ford was a 2001 MMI graduate who passed away on October 23, 2016, as a result of complications sustained in an automobile collision where she was a seat-belted passenger and suffered a traumatic brain injury. The Athena S. Ford ’01 Endowed Fund for Community Service was established in 2017 by members of the MMI Class of 2001 as a way to honor Ford. This fund is restricted by MMI...

Thirteen MMI Preparatory School students in the German Language program participated in German Day at Penn State University’s Main Campus.  Senior Daniel DeMelfi placed first in Level 3 Spelling. The Trivia Team of Anna Hoxha, Paige Matchick, Natalie Graham, Morgan Hosier, Louis DeAngelo, Reiley DeStefano, Daniel DeMelfi, Elias Bachman, Peter Walko, Dustin Paul, Allain Benetiz, Joshua Galbiati, and Althea Stewart tied for first place.   Sophomore Louis DeAngelo was second in Level 2 Spelling and freshman Allain Benitez finished 3rd in Level 1 Poetry.

Fifty-two MMI Preparatory School students attended the Pennsylvania FBLA State Leadership Conference, which was held from April 8-9 in Hershey. Seven students placed in the top 10 and five of those students will represent MMI at the National Leadership Conference, which will be held in July in San Antonio, Texas.

MMI Preparatory School announced that Wyoming Valley BMW will serve as the event sponsor for its Parents Association Designer Bag Bingo, which will be held on Sunday on the MMI campus at 154 Centre Street in Freeland. Doors open at noon and bingo games begin at 1 p.m. Tickets are $25 and will be available at the door.

Twenty MMI Preparatory School students, four faculty and staff members, and two parents visited Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai during a nine-day educational tour of China. The tour, which was coordinated by Education First Tours, was led by T.R. Laputka and chaperoned by MMI faculty members Christina Spencer, Michael Mele, and Christine Lizbinski.

Five MMI Preparatory School students completed several community service projects across Greater Hazleton as members of the 2018-19 Junior Leadership Hazleton class. Juniors Carter Frask, Catherine Havrilla, Madyson Hornack, Josiah Pacchioli, and Benjamin Putnam joined other students from schools throughout Greater Hazleton to carry out the projects. The class members are assigned a team who then prepares a project. The project teaches students about delegation of power, how to work together to achieve a goal, and ways they can bring some joy to parts of the community.

Four MMI Preparatory School students received awards in the 24th annual Israel T. & Mildred Klapper Memorial Holocaust Essay Contest, marking the first time in the history of the contest that one school won all four awards in the Middle School and High School categories. Eighth grader Jakob Narrow placed first in the Middle School division and junior Adam Tron won the High School division. Eighth grader Lauren Urosevich was second in the Middle School category and senior Wesley Guarneri was second in the High School category.